In episode #11 (season 2) of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a woman poisons her husband with the chemical sodium selenite. Strange as it may sound, this exotic murder weapon, and it’s close cousin, sodium selenate, are listed as "nutrients" on the labels of most mass-marketed vitamins. Even though both sodium selenite and selenate are classified as dangerous and toxic to the environment
What comes to mind when you think of toxic waste disposal? Biohazard suits, lead-lined vaults, and burial deep underground? You might be shocked to learn that a dumping ground for these chemicals is a product that many people consume daily to ensure good health - and it may be in your medicine cabinet.
If you knew that cyanide was found in common mass market vitamin brands, would you consume them? How about a chemical listed as a "nutrient" on the label which is 4 times more toxic than sodium cyanide? Welcome to the wicked world of mass market ingredients like sodium selenite ("a source of selenium"), which has a 50% chance of killing a 150lb adult human at a dose weighing one fifth the weight of a penny!
